Just wondering how long the job will take for 2 DIY people with adequate beer breaks to blow in cellulose insulation in a 40x36 shop. Going for an R44 which will be about 96+- bags. Attic is pretty easy to move around in also. Thanks. -MATT
How long does it take to blow in insulation?
- Thread starter matt60j
- Start date
2-3 hours max. I'd avoid the beer breaks until the job is done; wouldn't want anyone falling through the ceiling. The last time I did such a project it was about all one person could do to keep up with filling the blower.
Make sure you have some kind of stops in the soffit area so you don't blow insulation out into the soffit. Also, use those foam baffle thingies so you can maintain airflow from the soffit to the ridge vents - don't fill too full.
Make sure you have some kind of stops in the soffit area so you don't blow insulation out into the soffit. Also, use those foam baffle thingies so you can maintain airflow from the soffit to the ridge vents - don't fill too full.
Thanks for the info! Already have the foam baffles up so were good to go. Prob gonna be an a.m job so the beers can wait till lunch time.
-MATTIs the machine is good working order ?
i did 125 bags in my house last fall. went for R60, only about 2 hours and job was done. had my dad feeding the machine and my wife cutting open bags, and kids feeding her bags from the enclosed trailer. we had a great machine from lowes that worked flawlessly. the only thing i didn't like was it didn't have a tether kill/switch for me to shut it off when i needed to move to another area. the last house i did the machine had a user switch to kill it. my solution this last time, was i used a remote light, set up where the loader was and when i hit the remote button it would shut a lamp off where he was, he knew he needed to stop the machine.
I helped a friend do his attic and didn't know he needed me to stop feeding the machine. When he emerged from the rabbit hole it was quite the sight.
e-tek
Well-known member
I helped a friend do his attic and didn't know he needed me to stop feeding the machine. When he emerged from the rabbit hole it was quite the sight.
I'd rather watch other guys crawl around in my attic.
Come to think of it, so did the contractor I hired for our reno - he made me go in there to move some vents. *******.
79firebird
Well-known member
mabey a hour did 220 bags at my work in a 4 foot space between floors was a 70x50 space about 24 inches thick in about 2 1/2 hours.
bochnak
Well-known member
The only experience I have with this is blowing into a finished wall. I used 5-6 bags and it took forever. The end of the hose necks down to 1" to fit in the little access hole you drill into the wall. Therefore, we had to agitate the heck out of the insulation to make sure it would not clog the hose. Also, the gate had to be "almost" closed to prevent large chunks to go through.
Obviously you won't have this issue, BUT doesn't finely chopped up insulation have a better R value? I can't imagine going through that much insulation that fast with it not being to "fine".
In any case, I plan to do this to my attic hopefully next year.
Obviously you won't have this issue, BUT doesn't finely chopped up insulation have a better R value? I can't imagine going through that much insulation that fast with it not being to "fine".
In any case, I plan to do this to my attic hopefully next year.
tdkkart
Well-known member
Seriously, check with some contractors before doing this yourself. I had an additional R25 added to my house and R36 in the shop last fall, hiring the job done was cheaper than I could have bought just the insulation myself. Cheaper, and much less work is a good deal to me.
fergus
Well-known member
+1 to what everybody else says. On top of this, make sure whoever is feeding the unit does not stuff it too full. This will clog it and the flow will go down to nothing. And you cant have too little either. Oh and make sure the gate at the bottom of the machine is set properly...actually I think this made the biggest difference. At least, that was my experience with the crappy machine rented from Lowes.
2x this. It was about 20% cheaper for me to have it done than buy the materials and do it myself.
lg
no neat sig line